Today's News

The next state sales tax holiday is approaching as students prepare to head back to school.
During the holiday, Aug. 6-8, certain school supplies, clothing and footwear will be exempt from state sales tax, according to the Virginia Department of Taxation.
Each school supply must cost $20 or less and each item of clothing and footwear must cost $100 or less, according to the site.
Some computer supplies also are included in the list. Retailers may add additional items if they absorb the sales tax.
For a list of exempt items, see www.tax.virginia.gov.

With the Aug. 3 National Night Out crime prevention celebration being expanded to Main Street in downtown Galax to accommodate an expected 2,500-plus people, there is more room for activities and representation from community organizations.
National Night Out, a free community event hosted by Twin County Crime Prevention Coalition, will be from 6 to 9 p.m. on Grayson and Main streets.

The fifth annual Golf and Summer Bash fundraiser to benefit Project Lifesaver, is Saturday at the Galax Municipal Golf Course and clubhouse.
Project Lifesaver is a non-profit agency that works with individuals with autism, Down syndrome, dementia, Alzheimer’s and related disorders.
Golfing shotgun start times are 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. Music and hors d’oeuvres are at 4:30 p.m. and dinner, catered by Blue Moon Catering, is at 6.

Former Carroll County Circuit Court clerk Mason Brooks Montgomery, Sr., died Friday at his home. He was 80.
He served 24 years as clerk of court, after previously serving as deputy commissioner for eight years.
He was a past member of the Hillsville Volunteer Fire Department and a member of the Galax Moose Lodge.
Montgomery was born in Carroll County to the late William Henry Harrison Montgomery and Valeria Stilwell Montgomery.

Going 11 miles per hour over the speed limit on some interstate sections in Virginia could lead to a reckless driving charge later this summer.
Virginia has begun a process of evaluating whether to increase the speed limit from 65 mph to 70 mph on its interstate highways. Several parts of interstates 77 and 81 in Western Virginia are under consideration.
Because the legal definition of reckless driving includes going faster than 80 mph, the custom of some drivers to exceed the limit by 10 mph will bring them dangerously close to a major legal sanction.

WHITETOP — Two Virginia Department of Transportation workers were injured Monday after their truck lost its brakes and overturned.
State Trooper Jessie Tilson said Harold Dalton, 59, of Ivanhoe, was operating a truck painting lines on Virginia 600 in Whitetop when the truck lost its brakes.

INDEPENDENCE — The Oracle Institute is suing Grayson County, saying the Board of Supervisors and a number of county officials discriminated against the organization's founder when they denied her a special use permit for a spiritual retreat center in the Wilson District.

HILLSVILLE — An alleged “mutual mistake” by Carroll County and Weststar Investments throws into doubt the settlement on ownership of a wastewater pump station, according to a complaint filed in circuit court.
County officials and company owner Marshall Lineberry tried to correct a situation in 2008 that transferred a pump station on U.S. 58 near the industrial park to Weststar Investments.
The Carroll Public Service Authority uses the station to send wastewater through the Woodlawn system to Galax for treatment.